Sports briefs for May 20, 2013

Celtics’ Williams arrested for gun threats

Boston Celtics guard Terrence Williams was arrested Sunday for making threats with a gun, the Seattle Times reported.

The incident occurred during an argument involving Williams and a woman at a parking lot in Kent, Wash., at 1:55 p.m. on Sunday. The woman told police she is the mother of Williams’ 10-year-old son, with whom he had a scheduled visit.

Williams, 25, was taken into custody without incident. Police said it was a domestic violence case being investigated.

Lions’ Johnson may have played with broken fingers

Whether Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson played through his record-setting 2012 season with broken fingers has become a point of contention.

The Detroit News reported Monday that Johnson confirmed that his fingers were broken last season. However, ProFootballTalk.com later reported, based on sources, that Johnson did not actually break his fingers.

There is no debate that Johnson set an NFL record with 1,964 receiving yards last year. He caught 122 passes and scored five touchdowns. The yardage record was previously set by Jerry Rice.

Johnson also confirmed to the News that he is trying to have his fingers straightened out without having surgery.

There is no direct quote from Johnson in the News story claiming he had broken fingers, and the team has yet to confirm the injury.

Gronkowski surgery shows infection has cleared

New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski had his surgery as scheduled on Monday to install a plate in his broken left arm.

Perhaps more significant is that the surgery revealed that the infection in the arm has cleared, ProFootballTalk.com reported.

This is good news for Gronkowski, who has had four surgeries since he sustained the forearm fracture in November 2012.

Gronkowski is expected to have back surgery during the offseason as well. That surgery might have been tied to the results of the arm surgery. But the clearing of the infection may allow Gronkowski to move forward with the back procedure.

Charlotte to announce name change

The Charlotte Bobcats have scheduled a press conference for Tuesday, and they are expected to announce that the team will change its name to the Hornets, SportsBusiness Daily reported Monday.

Bobcats owner Michael Jordan will announe the team will switch to the name used by Charlotte’s original NBA franchise. The team will be known as the Hornets beginning in the 2014-2015 season, according to the report.

The Hornets name became available after Saints owner Tom Benson bought the New Orleans Hornets in 2012 and this year changed the team’s name to the Pelicans.

The Hornets played in Charlotte from 1988 until 2002 before moving to New Orleans.

San Francisco favored to host 50th Super Bowl

MIAMI — San Francisco is favored to be named the host city for the 50th Super Bowl when National Football League (NFL) owners vote Tuesday on the site of the 2016 championship game.

The Californian city, home to the NFL’s 49ers, is up against South Florida (Miami) while Houston will compete with the losing bid for the 2017 game, which will also be decided on Tuesday.

The San Francisco Bay Area has hosted one Super Bowl, in 1985

But that extra experience appears to be the only obvious advantage Miami has.

Knicks’ Anthony to have shoulder examined

New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony will have his sore left shoulder examined by team doctors, the New York Daily News reported Monday.

The team is hoping that the injury is not serious and will not need surgery.

Anthony played much of the postseason in pain and it got worse during Game 5 of the first-round series against the Boston Celtics when Kevin Garnett pulled on his arm while setting a screen.

Anthony shot 43.3 percent in the playoffs.

Chad Johnson arrested in Florida

Free agent wide receiver Chad Johnson was arrested in Florida on Monday for a probation violation, according to multiple reports.

A warrant for his arrest was issued last week by a Florida judge, but Johnson was out of state. He returned to Florida and was arrested Monday morning.

Johnson was placed on probation last summer stemming from a domestic violence charge against his then-wife. The warrant was issued after Johnson missed two visits with probation officers and failed to show proof that he enrolled in a domestic violence education class.

Johnson was let go by the Miami Dolphins after his domestic violence arrest last year.

Alabama auctions off broken BCS trophy

The University of Alabama auctioned off its broken 2011 BCS Championship trophy for $105,000 on Sunday, according to the Tuscaloosa News.

The crystal ball trophy was mishandled during a spring practice last year and parts of it broke off and into smaller pieces.

The school auctioned the trophy off Sunday at its UA Celebrity Golf Tournament and a bidder paid $105,000 for it.

Raptors moving Colangelo out of basketball operations

The Toronto Raptors are moving executive Bryan Colangelo out of basketball operations and into a corporate position with the team.

Yahoo! Sports reported Monday that the Raptors are making the move because they are interested in hiring Denver Nuggets general manager Masai Ujiri to take over their front office.

Colangelo has run the team’s basketball operations for seven years but the team has only made the playoffs twice during that span and is coming off a 34-48 season.

Ujiri, the NBA’s executive of the year, helped put together a Nuggets squad that won 57 games and got the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference playoffs.